Dear Ms. Danuta Gray

My previous post concerned my decision to give O2 the benefit of the doubt with regard to their pricing plans for the upcoming release of the Apple iPhone in Ireland.

I decided, on balance, that since a similar voice/data package with O2 Ireland for other smart phones would be slightly more expensive than the one they are specifically offering to new iPhone users, that I'd happily bow out and gladly accept the plans they have agreed.

I was prepared to ignore the horrendous disparity between the plans O2 offer UK iPhone customers compared to the plans for Ireland iPhone customers; I didn't even mention that the iPhone itself will be more expensive here than in any of the other official countries; I off-set my annoyance that O2 Ireland didn't feel it necessary to provide Visual VoiceMail despite its adoption in every other official iPhone country; and I finally conceded that the measly 1GB per month data allowance was possibly - on reflection - reasonable enough for a mobile device.

However, what I will not accept is a statement made today, by O2 Ireland CEO, Danuta Gray, to MacNN.com.  In it she makes it quite clear that individuals with "foreign" iPhones will not be permitted to avail of the new Irish O2 iPhone plans; seemingly only Irish iPhones will be the emancipated units.

Let us - if you still care at this stage - analyse this a little further:

1. Firstly, just when did a bloody piece of technology have a nationality?  The iPhones supplied to Ireland are indistinguishable from those sold in the other five "official countries".  Should a corporation - be it Apple or O2 - wish to advantage their profit in a global economy, I think it vile that they should reduce to some convoluted form of nationalism when it suits.

2. Just when was it considered ethical and just to punish early adopters and those who form the fan base (dare I say "core base")?  To say that the early success of the iPhone has set O2 Ireland in a position to make great returns, is no understatement.  A position only realised because the aforementioned early success was due in a large part to "unofficial" users like me.  As I (and many reputable sites) previously posted, around 1/3 of iPhones are being used outside of "official" countries.  This was NOT due to a tendency toward some realm of illegality, but a genuine desire to adopt new technology when market forces seemingly dictated that there was no immediate return from our participation.

3. On what exactly, is this decision based?  How will O2 Ireland suffer if "non-native" iPhones are used on their network?  Is O2 Ireland deriving some of the profit from the sales of iPhones themselves?  Is this why we are to pay more for the device here than elsewhere?  I can genuinely account for 17 people who changed from using Windows machines to using Macs, and by extension, "Apple products".  Seventeen precisely.  These were people for whom Apple now have a potentially long-term partnership and following.  As someone who has blogged to the entire internet masses concerning my absolute adoration for Apple I find it upsetting that I'm in a position where I'm seriously reconsidering my loyalty.

As for O2, you clearly don't want my business, and I can assure you that I also don't want yours.  Should Ms. Gray come across this blog, I'd appreciate if she were to fashion a response, which I will gladly post here in the interest of a balanced discussion.

From time to time, there has to be acknowledgement for the people who enable a situation that lends itself to an advantage; that the very nature of this advantage is abused to punish the enablers is most unpalatable and, without an ounce of sentimentality, really acts against my sense of what is right.

If you also feel hard done by, I'd encourage you to Digg this!  Button at the top of this post.

UPDATE: a commenter on my blog left a comment on a post related to this in which he explains that two of his posts were deleted by administrators on the Apple Forum:

1. The first post concerned the lack of Visual Voicemail for O2 Ireland iPhone users, which was deleted as it wasn't a technical question!

2. The second post compared the cost of iPhone plans that O2 offer in the UK with those being offered in Ireland, pointing out that O2 Ireland plans are stingy in comparison to those in the UK.  This too was deleted for similar reasons.

What gets me is the lack of consistency at Apple.  Just take a look at the Apple Forum.  There are countless posts which do not pose a technical question, and many are just pure gossip/chat, and yet they remain.

I really think it's time for Apple/O2 Ireland to make clear to the Irish public the nature of the agreement between them, and explain the following fully:

1. The higher cost of iPhone units in Ireland.

2. The discrepancy between O2's plans in the UK and Ireland.

3. The lack of Visual Voicemail.

4. The justification for not allowing iPhones bought outside of Ireland to be used on the O2 Ireland service.

UPDATE 2:  Another commenter on my blog mentioned that O2 Ireland won't initially sell the 16GB iPhone!  We'll be forced into buying the 8GB iPhone, which - if numerous reports are true - will be discontinued to be replaced with the 16GB alongside a new 32GB iPhone (reportedly at the same prices as the current 8GB and 16GB).